Blood Bound II
by half-demon girl
Summary: The Demon has AWAKEN! What will happen to Konohagakure now that Makaigenshu has been released by Rai, someone who was supposed to be dead? Part 2 of 2
1. Of Mortal and Of Beast

"_Rai!"_ _Iruka shouted her name as he bolted over to catch her body. He skidded back on his feet and left knee. He glanced at Rai's body before glaring up at Makaigenshu. 'How dare he talk about Rai like a tool and treat her body like a used rag!' Iruka thought. Makaigenshu laughed. After all, she was human… wasn't she?_

"_Why do you insist on helping her when she has already left this world? That's nothing but an empty shell, a corpse." Kakashi watched Iruka. Iruka gritted his teeth and held back a growl. Suddenly, Rai's body began to disintegrate from top to bottom, fading into the air. Iruka looked down and gasped, but she had vanished. _

"_Rai," He whispered. He looked at his hands as if he was still holding her. He balled his fists and shut his eyes, gritting his teeth. Kakashi raised his lip, gnashed his teeth behind his mask, and glared deadly at Makaigenshu. Most of the people were in shock, however, some turned their attention back to Makaigenshu and glared at him. Oh, how Makaigenshu loved this feeling, this feeling of rage, anger, and killing intent. This is what he thrived on and loved. Iruka stood up, fists balled at his sides. Makaigenshu chuckled at Iruka, and then looked over the group, spotting Kakashi._

"_Well now, White Fang…" He chuckled. "I see you lived long enough to see my reign of this world you tried to prevent with those futile seals." Kakashi just continued to glare at the demon accusing him as his father. … "Hmm… pity... you couldn't protect the daughter of the woman you were sworn to protect." He began to walk down the steps. "Now," He disappeared and, as if in slow motion, appeared in front of Kakashi and grabbed his throat. Time resumed and Kakashi found himself forced back by his throat against the wall. Everyone gasped. Dust kicked up late. "To repay you for that torturous hell you confined me in!" Makaigenshu raised his free hand and stiffened it for a piercing strike. His hand began to glow an eerie green. ..._ _Kakashi grabbed the demon's wrist and struggled against his hold. Suddenly, the glow ceased, and Makaigenshu cocked his head to the side slightly and took in several whiffs of air. Kakashi continued to glare at the demon, even though he was struggling. Makaigenshu sneered, "So," He chuckled a bit as he leaned in slightly. "You're not White Fang, are you?" Kakashi grunted. "You're his little brat." Makaigenshu released his claws from the wall and allowed Kakashi to drop to the floor. Kakashi crumpled in a pile, gasping for air. "And I thought you were supposed to be her body guard." He reached down, grabbed Kakashi by his hair, and forced him to look up into his red eyes. "And you were supposed to save her… pity…" He let go roughly and walked back to the altar, which now held a large throne like chair. As he passed through the group, shivers were sent down everyone's spine, due to the cold chill he emitted. Several grabbed their chests or collapses to their knees due to his immense aura._ _…"Your reign of this world has ended!" His voice echoed through the room. "Now…" Kakashi stood up, using the wall as a crutch. "It's my turn to rule." His eyes began to glow brighter. There was a rumble at their feet, a deafening explosion, and everything went black._

Slowly, one by one, they started to wake up. As they regained consciousness, they found themselves scattered about a plateau that over looked the whole valley. Black thunderheads rumbled fiercely over head as they crawled into the sky above Konohagakure.

"Alright, did anyone get that guy's number?" Naruto complained as he ruffled his blonde spikes. "And, man! What was his deal?" Naruto pouted as he crossed his arms and sat there.

"That _guy_ isn't just any guy, Naruto." Asuma stated, sitting back on his heels. He just stared off into the distance. Shikamaru rolled up to sit cross-legged and cocked his head to the side, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Man, he packs a wallop…" Shikamaru muttered.

"You're tellin' me," Choji stated, looking over to his friend from his prone position.

"Then what _is _he _exactly_?" Neji was one of the first standing. He had his arms crossed as he eyed the Jonin suspiciously. Neji knew he was not human, he had seen too much to know that it was not even possible.

Asuma sighed before stating, "_That_ was Sankaku…" He shifted to stand up.

"Or better known as Makaigenshu…" Anko stated as she started to brush herself off. "Better known as the Demon of Hell," She crossed her arms and closed her eyes, recalling something from her memory. "Surely you've heard of some rumors about him…" She glanced over the young ones. All of them stared at her blankly. "Okay," a sweat drop went down the side of her head. She sighed and then looked to the dark clouds in the sky. "He lures wandering and confused souls that haven't left this world towards him and tricks them into hell, where they remain for the rest of etern-" Kurenai elbowed Anko in the side sharply. Anko jerked sideways, uncrossing her arms for balance. She looked at Kurenai, who glared slightly at her as she took her left hand and pointed it in Kakashi's direction, right hand still on her hip. Kakashi was standing, his back to the group as he looked over the valley, sulking slightly. "Oh…" Anko sighed.

"So, he's a…" Ino began to state, her face taking on a look of concern and shock.

"Demon? Yes…" Iruka stated, glancing at the genin.

"So, explain this," Sasuke stated after watching the adults, "How come only some of you know who he is, if he's such a big threat?" Yeah, why did some of the adults know about him while others didn't? The genin looked around the group. They stopped on Gai first.

"It's something I knew because of my Eternal Rival." Gai gave his famous smile with a shine and his hands on his hips. Next was Asuma.

"It was part of my generation, I guess you could say." He turned his gaze away and rubbed the back of his head. Next, Anko.

"Some stuff I remember readin' when I got bored." Anko gave her big mischievous grin. Next, Kurenai. She just shook her head.

"I didn't know until we got here." She stated. Iruka was next.

"Rai was a good friend of mine," he mumbled and turned his head away from them. Then there was Kakashi, self-explanatory. Genma was up next.

"Don't look at me. I had no clue." He shook his head slightly and waved a hand carelessly. The genin looked at Tsunade who just turned around and walked to the plateau looking over the city. Finally, Shizune had some explaining to do.

"I never really knew about Rai being a demon, or her father, until Tsunade-sama told me back in the village." She explained.

"Speaking of which," Shikamaru stood up. "We need to get back there and fast!" The thunderheads rumbled overhead. The rest stood up and began to walk towards Tsunade. Tsunade had her arms crossed and gripped the sleeves of her jacket tightly, squinting down at the village.

"I fear it may already be too late…" She stated as the group congregated around her. The thunderclouds rained white lightning and darkened the sky. Slowly, the sky began to shift to a different color when a massive white wolf appeared out of nowhere.

"Wha-what is that thing!" The genin shouted. A massive horde of flying demons suddenly surrounded the canine. They looked like a swarm of insects surrounding the large beast.

"We need to get back to the village… NOW!" With that statement, they all disappeared in a puff of smoke. When they arrived, it was already too late. The demons had entered the village and ransacked it to ruins. Bodies of both kinds lay among the streets and buildings were set on fire and collapsing. Luckily, almost all of the civilians were herded underground to a safe house with Anbu guarding and sealing the doors with sutras. The smell of burnt flesh, hair, clothing, and wood filled the air. It was choking and brought tears to your eyes with the amount of smoke. The merciless Demon Lord watched with a sharp-toothed sneer.

"Go forth my kin and conquer this world in the name of Hell!" His deep voice echoed. Demons of every shape and size disappeared to the four winds; only 5% remained in Konohagakure.

"You!" A voice called out to the massive wolf demon. His massive left ear twitched and he turned to look at the faces. It was Tsunade standing atop them.

"So," He squinted his red eyes in slight annoyance, "You're still alive?"

"How dare you destroy my village!" Tsunade spat at him. She looked heroic standing there with the smoke and embers in the background, her hair and jacket fluttering behind her slightly. He chuckled.

"What village? Do you mean this?" He lifted his left paw and brought it down with force, shattering the buildings and ground. He chuckled at her with an evil grin. Tsunade gritted her teeth. Several ninja launched an attack on the large beast, throwing kunai, large weapons, and elements at him. He glanced at them out of the corner of his left eye; they didn't even ruffle his fur. "You humans are so foolish. Do you seriously think that will work on me?" Another wave came, this time it was bigger. "Tuh, pesky… Let this teach you!" He turned his head and took in a deep breath. His eyes began to glow brighter and he opened his mouth, breathing flames onto the onslaught and the village. He turned his head and aimed at Tsunade and the group that gathered behind her. Tsunade was prepared to take anything he threw at her head on. She brought up her arms and crossed her forearms in front of her face to block the flames.

"Hot… Hot… HOT!" Naruto jumped about as they were enveloped in flames. Makaigenshu shut his mouth after he thought they were done roasting. Smoke and the last lick of flames seeped through the tiny crevices in his sharp teeth before completely dying out in his mouth. As the smoke and flames cleared, a red tinted barrier surrounded the faces and, especially, the people on them.

"Hmm…" Sankaku squinted at the barrier in disgust. "I see my daughter has done more in this world then just befriend humans." They looked up and around at the barrier. "She seems to have left you with a parting gift." Sankaku gave them a lopsided smile. "No matter, it won't last long. Since she has left this world, her tricks will soon cease to work and that barrier will no longer protect you or this village. It's just prolonging the unavoidable." He sneered at them. He then turned around and head back northward.

"He's right, we can't stop him," Tenten stated.

"He's too strong," Hinata stated timidly.

"But he's right…" Iruka stated, "Certain jutsus do diminish over time, like barriers. But certain seals will not, no matter how many years pass, it'll stay there till the end of time."

"So, we're short on time." Genma stated.

"But how are we going to stop him?"Kurenai asked. A figure appeared from the right side of the faces.

"There might be another way…" Everyone snapped their heads to the figure. It was Kabuto; it looked like he had seen slightly better days. His clothing was dirty and ripped in several places and skin smudged with dirt, but other than that he was fine.

"Kabuto…" Naruto growled and went into a fighting stance.

"What do you want?" Sasuke asked turning to him and on guard for any signs of trouble.

"What anybody else wants…" He smirked, glasses glazing over with the light from the fire, "to get rid of Makaigenshu." All of them were in some state of shock.

"Well, _that_ was a quick change of heart," Ino stated, arms crossed. She tossed her bangs by tossing her head up slightly.

"As I was saying, there may be a way…" Kabuto's smirk grew slightly, "If you are willing to cooperate." Several people got chills running up their spine.

"No thank you, Kabuto," Sakura stated, crossing her arms, "You tricked us once before. You won't trick us again." The group eyed him warily. Kabuto shrugged and turned around. He began to walk back the way he came.

"Suit yourself! Enjoy this demonic world!" He waved his hand lazily over his shoulder at them. "And you won't be able to possibly get even a sliver a chance to save Rai…" He glanced over his shoulder as he muttered this. Anko appeared in front of him, hands on her hips and leaning forward.

"What was that you just said about Rai?" Kabuto made the quickest stop in his life in front of the purple haired woman who was glaring at him suspiciously.

"What are you talking about?" Kabuto asked. Suddenly someone grabbed the front of his shirt and hoisted him into the air.

"Spill…" Asuma growled threateningly. Kabuto just raised his hands as if he had nothing in them.

"You guys don't want to save her…" He shrugged slightly. Several Jonin appeared behind Asuma and were glaring at Kabuto.

"We dare you to say that again…" Asuma growled. Most of the people got into a fighting stance, pulling out weapons or readying fists or palms for a battle.

"Put me down and I'll tell you." Kabuto bargained with him. Asuma let out a small groan in his throat as he placed the man down on the ground. "I can possibly help you get your friend back." He stated once Asuma's hands were removed from the front of his shirt.

"What's with the sudden change of heart?" Shikamaru asked, walking up behind Kabuto. He was surrounded, he had nowhere to run.

"Nobody wanted this, not even Lord Orochimaru." Kabuto shook his head and motioned to the village, "Just take a look behind you."

"You mean to say, Orochimaru wanted to do this, not Makaigenshu in his stead." Iruka accused crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"Perhaps…" He smirked, "perhaps not… Lord Orochimaru just wanted use of his arms. That is all I am going to say."

"We can't trust him," Kurenai stated. "He's too much of a threat and we don't know if he's going to just lead us into a trap." The group nodded. They didn't know if he was still working with or for the demons. However, Rai did.

Kabuto turned and stated over his shoulder, "Suit yourself… but if you guys want to have even a chance to save your friend… by all means, follow me…" He started to walk off in the direction he came. The group parted slightly and watched him go. He smiled, not changing his gait when he didn't hear anyone taking the offer. Everyone hesitated and looked at one another. Finally, someone made the first step to follow Kabuto.

"Tsunade-sama!" Shizune gasped. Tsunade stopped, arms still crossed. She closed her eyes and tilted her head down slightly.

"Like he said, nobody wanted this." She restated for the group. She opened her eyes and looked back up towards Kabuto, who now stopped and looked back at the group. "Even though I don't like the bitch, it's better than this." She began to walk after Kabuto again. Everyone looked at each other, first in slight shock, then an 'are you ready? Let's go,' look. And they all began to follow Kabuto.


	2. Where Two Worlds Meet

They followed Kabuto through the dying and blackening forest. Every ninja was suspicious of the man in purple extending a friendly hand towards them in a time of need. They followed him warily and every sense was on high alert for any signs of a trap or treason. The group cautiously trailed behind him south-southwest of the city, occasionally stopping to take cover from large birds overhead or demons in their path. Once they reached the edge of the forest and began to ascend the mountains, it seemed less and less likely Kabuto was leading them into a trap.

"Maybe he really is trying to help us," Tenten whispered to Neji as they ascended the harmless looking mountain.

"We can't be too sure," Neji replied, "Keep your wits about you." As the group crested a well-worn pathway up the mountain, they began to get an eerie feeling seeping into the air around them, enough to nauseate the genin and inexperienced Chunin. Gray clouds concealed most of their surroundings, or was it fog? This caused everyone to contain their chakra as best as they could and just leak enough to sense of any danger about them. They kept descending, and the visibility slowly got better. They continued going down, down, and even more down. Surely, they should have hit level ground by now, or at least leveled off into a deep valley. The path made a sharp curve, became very narrow, only enough for one person at a time, and began to decline sharply. Kabuto placed his right hand on the face of the mountain like a rail for a staircase. Everyone followed suit with the motion and descended the steep incline. The air around them began to get heavy, some of them where breathing through their mouths, and some had perspiration dripping down the sides of their face. However, Kabuto seemed to be unaffected by this.

"Man," Naruto pulled at his collar with his left hand, "Is it getting hot, or is it just me?" He gulped for air.

Kabuto chuckled slightly and called over his shoulder, "Just look down." He smiled and just kept walking. Naruto looked down over the edge, as did several others. At the very bottom rose a bright orange-red light of liquid fire.

"Yikes!" Naruto jumped back and plastered his back against the face of the mountain. He slid along the side of the mountain, clinging to it as much as he could. The others were shocked at the turn of events.

"Lava?" Kurenai asked the group.

"Where exactly is he taking us?" Genma asked as he eyed the man suspiciously.

"To our death bed, most likely," Shikamaru replied, glaring at Kabuto. "This is such a pain and a waste of time. We've been out here following him around for almost 4 hours and we still have not gotten anywhere close to finding Rai." Shikamaru explained to the group. The group had made a small stop and glared at Kabuto. Kabuto turned and looked at the group.

"What?" He asked innocently, as if he was doing nothing wrong. "We're almost there anyways."

"Yeah right," Kiba barked, "All we smell is brimstone and burning earth! Not even a hint of Rai-sama's scent is among them!" Akamaru barked in agreement. The group began to whisper back and forth to each other.

"Take it easy," Kabuto put his hands up in defense, "We really are almost there, just around this corner and you'll be able to find your little friend. I swear on my life." He confidently said as he turned and walked down the path. The group grumbled in agitation as they followed him. It was true, when they rounded the corner the path leveled off. The main path kept going in a straight line, dividing later on, while a small path broke off to the left. It was very unfortunate that when they all got to the flattened path, that a large ogre with a spiked club had come from the path on the left and spotted the group. He let out a grunt and roar, summoning more of his kind and many more demons. "Oh dear, that's not good." Kabuto stated with a slight frown. Ogres came rushing at them weapons in the air, baby fire gargoyles and their ugly parents swooped down from overhead and tried to scorch the group, fire rats scurried quickly towards them, and bats cloaked in fire flew down from the cavern ceilings. The bats were the size of footballs, tip of wing to tip of wing, and the fire rats came in every size from a common house rat to something that could take your leg off!

"Shit!" Some of the group swore and began to defend themselves by dodging the heavy blows of the massive bipeds and flames of the flyers. Several fire people and fire souls shot up from their dwelling in the liquid fire and joined their comrades.

"I knew it! I knew it!" Sakura shouted out in anger as her fist made contact with a flying gargoyle baby. "He tricked us! I knew it!" She kicked out at several growling fire rats that scurried towards her feet.

"Not so fast, Sakura," Iruka intervened in her tirade. "It doesn't look like he's on their side." They quickly glanced towards Kabuto. He had edged his way closer and closer to the left branch of the path, fighting off several large ogres. The group had made slow progress to catch up to Kabuto's position. Unfortunately, he had other plans.

"Sorry, guys," He said to the giants. He flipped over the large brown ogre as he swung his axe down and landed on the path behind him. "I don't have time to play games." He took off for the hole where the path led.

"That does it!" Tsunade growled and dodged a blue ogre's large fist, grabbed it and flung it in Kabuto's direction. "Hurrah!" The massive beast hit his friends and the path, causing it to crumble and give way to the air beneath it. Kabuto stumbled and leapt to the hole in the cave wall. He crouched and looked over his shoulder at the struggling group. "Damn you, bastard!" Tsunade let a gargoyle have her fury as she kicked it in his direction.

"I'm afraid this is where we must part!" Kabuto gave a two-fingered salute with his right hand. "See ya." He bolted down the tunnel and disappeared. Several fire bats followed him in futile pursuit.

"Wait!" Naruto shouted out, but it was too late, Kabuto had left them.

"Traitor!" Shizune shouted out. She laid several poison senbon into some gargoyles.

"Everyone duck!" Gai's voice rang as he nailed a gargoyle with a quick kick and pulled the last remaining ogre off his feet and swung him, sending most of the bat like creatures flying, and then let him go to fall into the abyss of lava down below. The remaining demons saw this and took flight, scurried away, or just disappeared into ash. Everyone was breathing heavily.

"That bastard," Anko huffed out and glared at the hole where Kabuto was last scene. "What are we supposed to do now?" She snapped, as she stood straight up. The whole group was tired, but they were also ticked beyond belief. Using Rai's name like that, in order to get his way. Iruka slammed the mountain face with the outside of his right fist and his face contorted in anger.

"Bastard," Iruka muttered to himself, "that bastard."

"How could he use Rai-sama's name like that?" Ino asked. "I just don't believe it!" Ino shook her head in disbelief.

"It doesn't matter anymore…" Asuma stated. "He did it, and we fell for it." He glanced to the group then down to the ground.

"He used it against us, he knew we were desperate." Iruka stated through gritted teeth as he leaned against the mountain, placing his forehead on his hand. "He used it to get his way; he knew he couldn't take on all those demons by himself. That is why he got us, he just used Rai's name as a lure, a decoy, to get us to follow him in hopes of being able to rescue her."

"But, it was really for his own benefit." Sasuke finished what Iruka was trying to say. Everyone felt used, fooled, and played. They felt ridiculous, how could they have fallen for such an obvious trap? Even though deep down, in the very back farthest reaches of their intellect; they, somehow, prayed to Kami that it was, in the most unlikely way, true that Rai could still be remotely alive. Unfortunately, Kabuto had proven them wrong, and they fell for it hard and felt it too. However, in the forefront of their minds, they knew they couldn't feel as bad as Kakashi. Several people glanced at him. He was in his regular postured stance, and his head tilted slightly towards the ground. Everyone was silent for a while, some found a seat and sat down to rest their tired and aching feet. Kakashi had wandered away from the group in the direction the path was leading. He scuffed his feet to a halt and looked around. He stared ahead at the path that split in two further up ahead. He just stood there and stared at it, more like the right one, something about that one was pulling him towards going that way. Why? He had no idea.

"So, what are we gonna do?" Genma asked.

"We can't just sit here and mope, we have to at least do something." Kurenai said as she stood up from leaning against the mountain's side. Asuma, Gai, and Genma noted Kakashi's interest in the path up ahead. The trio looked at each other. Is it worth a shot? Genma and Gai gave shrugs to the silent question. The group slowly got to their feet, and one by one, walk down the path to the divide. Once Asuma, Gai, and Genma passed him, Kakashi began his slow, nonchalant walk to follow them. Gai took a burst of speed and got to the divide first.

"I believe we should go…" Gai dramatically and enthusiastically pointed to the left path, "That way!"

"There he goes again," Tenten sighed and slumped over in embarrassment.

"Is he serious?" Ino complained, slumped over as well.

"Let's go!" Gai threw his left fist in the air and marched forward onto the left path. As he placed his left foot down, the path suddenly gave way and fell into the fiery abyss. Gai jumped back in surprise and slight embarrassment. He let out the slightest yelp of surprise. He then coughed, regaining his composure and turned to face the group. "Ah ha! Just as I suspected! It was a trap!"

Gemna knelt down by the edge and looked down, "Well, it's clear we aren't going that way." The closer Kakashi had gotten to the divide, the more he wanted to go to the right. He had watched the incident with Gai almost falling, but then turned his attention back to the right path. What was causing the sensation he felt as if he needed to go that way? No, that he HAD to go that way. He began to walk towards the path that remained. Most took notice and followed him, Gai finally snapped out of it when Genma stood up, after looking over his shoulder at the moving herd and left him alone.

Gai opened his eyes and frantically looked around, "Huh? Uh, uh… Right! Off we go!" Gai bolted after them. They entered a tunnel, which looked like a cave like structure. They immediately noticed the air cooling around them and the humidity dropping every step they took further inside the tunnel.

"Maybe we should stop here and rest," Shizune suggested, trying to hold back a yawn. "It's been a while since we've rested, since… well…" Shizune didn't want to bring up that topic, seeing as how touchy everyone was about a certain half demon.

"That sounds good, this isn't that bad of a place to stop for a good sleep." Genma complimented. Asuma turned to face Kakashi, who had his back to them.

"Kakashi?" Asuma asked him. Kakashi turned to look over his left shoulder and nodded at Asuma as a 'go ahead'. Kakashi stood for a while looking further down the tunnel as everyone settled down and began to quickly fall asleep. Everyone was able to let down their guard enough to fall into a light slumber, enough to regain some lost energy. Several people, however, could not fall asleep no matter how hard they tried. Kakashi was one of them, every time he kept closing his eye, his mind would drift and he would find himself staring at the path ahead. Once he would realize his eye was open, he'd shake his head quickly and close his eye. As soon as everyone's internal clock was reset, they all stood up and stretched, their stomach's growling slightly. As predicted, Kakashi was the first one up and headed in the direction the path lead. The path made a curve to the right and the air began to get heavy as they spotted the exit. Right at the mouth of the opening was a small ledge before it severely dropped off. It was a cliff, it was slanted slightly, and ended on a flat earthen surface.

"Great! Now what are we going to do?" Naruto complained a little too loud to echo throughout the cavern. Kakashi glared slightly at the path, this was a slight set back, yet it told him to continue on. He took his hands out of his pockets and took a leap off the edge.

"Kakashi-sensei!" The genin gasped. Kakashi's feet landed on the cliff's face, he summoned some chakra to keep him attached to the face as he slid quickly down the slope to the bottom. As he approached the bottom he leapt off and landed soundlessly on the bottom, stirring up the red eyed black birds and fire bats from their resting place. He stood up and turns around to look over his right shoulder up at the group agape at his actions.

"I guess it's okay." Asuma stated. He led the group as he leapt, following Kakashi's actions. Quickly, they all jumped down the cliff, sliding to the bottom where they met up with Kakashi. On the way down, Naruto's foot snagged a rock and he lost his balance and began to run before he couldn't keep up with his feet and fell flat on his face at the bottom. Choji, unfortunately, was behind him and couldn't stop from falling onto Naruto's back.

Naruto let out a slight grunt in pain as Choji landed on him. "Oops, sorry Naruto." Choji apologized as he sat up. Shikamaru went to Choji's side and helped him up.

"Are you okay, Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked as she crouched down by his side. He just left his face in the dirt and gave her a thumbs up. The adults gathered by Kakashi to survey the scene ahead. Tsunade crossed her arms.

"I don't like this feeling." She stated to the group. They all felt this weird presence about them as they landed.

"We're going to have to be more careful from here on out." Asuma stated to the group, it was more for the genin's ears than the adults. Naruto had gotten himself up and placed his hands on his back and pushed his back into place with a crack. Sakura looked at him with a slightly grossed out and shocked expression.

"Will you quit goofing around and let's go already." Neji called back to Naruto and Sakura who were being left behind by the advancing group. They snapped their heads to the group and ran to catch up to them. As they walked down the path, the presence did not wane. They scanned back and forth as they walked, making sure nothing was going to pop out at them along this thick path. The surroundings were mostly of stalactites and stalagmites with round stair-like earth at the bases. The path started to slope up. Suddenly, something came swooping down from the cavern ceiling above and struck Sakura in the back of the head.

"Ow!" She yelped slightly as her head lurched forward. She quickly placed her right hand on the back of her head. The group stopped and turned around.

"What happened?" Neji asked quickly.

"Something," Sakura explained as she rubbed the back of her head, "hit me." She brought her head up to look at the group and pulled her hand from the back of her head. It was coated in a red substance. "Blood," Sakura aired as she stared shocked at the blood on her hand. She slowly turned and looked up over her right shoulder. There, on the ceiling, was a massive swarm of bats; however, the one that hit her was flying slightly below them. The group looked up. Crap! How could they have missed that big of a swarm! The swarm's eyes opened and they all took flight towards the group. The group was shocked at the amount of bats there were and barely registered the fact that they were being attacked until they came within range of a kunai.

"Look out!" Naruto shouted and everyone split. The swarm divided among the group. They quickly figured out that weapons were not going to work well with these quick flying fire creatures, wait, fire?

"They can light themselves on fire!" Ino shouted to her sensei in surprise. She dodged another swoop from a bat.

"Rotation!" Neji shouted as he spun on his feet, knocking out every incoming bat. Shino had found very little use of the resident insects and didn't want to waste his own, so all he could do was use his bugs to send out high pitched frequencies to confuse the bats.

"Ah! Man will you cut that out! That hurts!" Kiba growled as he covered his ears. He glared through his right eye at Shino, who quickly ceased the noise. Kakashi shook his head, trying to rid his ears of the ringing sound. He quickly turned and did a reverse hook kick and nailed some bats before leaping into the air to flip and axe kick the escapees. Gai nailed several.

"Yeah! Bring it on!" He shouted. He went to back up when a strong wave of heat suddenly appeared behind him. He stopped and looked over his shoulder at the lava spirit. "Crap…" He muttered before dodging a downward blow from the spirit's long arms.

"Oh, great!" Tsunade groaned in sarcasm. "There's more!"

"You almost ready yet!" Shikamaru asked after his foot made contact with a lava spirit.

"Several more seconds!" Kurenai shouted as she focused her chakra into the water particles in the surrounding stone, or what was there anyways. "We have to do this quickly before it all evaporates and turns into steam," she said to Shizune who glanced at her and nodded.

"I'm ready whenever you are." Shizune said to Kurenai. Kurenai nodded. They summoned all the water they could out of the ground. It swirled around their feet then spiraled up and around them. They aimed it right at Kakashi.

"Kakashi, now!" Kurenai shouted. Kakashi glanced up and formed rapid hand signs. The water was soon under his control and it took the form of a dragon that snaked its way around and engulfed every demon and spirit. It began to evaporate quickly, steam coming from the whole dragon as it dove for the last lava spirit and drenched it before completely evaporating around the group, leaving it humid. The group sighed and slumped a bit.

"Can we PLEASE continue moving so we don't get into another battle again!" Tsunade asked, trying to stress a point. The group just continued to walk down the path, now that the presence was weak. They walked along the path into another cave and came to a dead end as they entered a massive round space in the cave, almost like a chamber. They all halted in the center, suddenly they felt a presence watching them.

"Kakashi…" Gai stated as he crouched down his back to Kakashi.

"I know." Kakashi finally spoke as he crouched a little. This presence was what was pulling him in this direction, and now, he was ready to confront it.

"Neji! Hinata!" Kurenai shouted. They nodded.

"Byakugan!"

Kabuto strolled down the path nonchalantly. He suddenly came to a huge gate with a kanji letter on it, hell. A massive giant stood in front of the massive door. Once he saw Kabuto he slammed his long stemmed axe on the ground, causing it to shake slightly. "None shall pass." It stated as Kabuto grew near. Kabuto barely came up to the giant's knee. "Your journey ends here." It growled at Kabuto. Kabuto walked forward and stopped on the little island of land before the massive gate. He smirked.

"I'm afraid not." Kabuto sneered at the giant. The giant opened his left hand; it created a fireball, and shot it at him. Kabuto jumped out of the way and lunged at the giant with a punch. The giant wasn't fazed by the punch at all and swung his axe as Kabuto. He swung several times as he stepped forward, each missing before he threw a punch. Kabuto was flung into the air, he flipped and used a stalagmite to lunge off of and use as momentum to try for another attack. He lunged at the giant and missed.

"Ha, you missed, pathetic human!" The giant chuckled as he turned to face Kabuto. Kabuto landed on one knee and hand.

"I wasn't aiming for you." He stated to the giant. The last of the bomb tags sizzled and let loose an explosion that rained stalagmites down on the unsuspecting giant. Kabuto stood and turned to walk to the gate. Once the pile stopped smoldering, it shook and the giant burst out of the center. Kabuto looked and put his arms up as he got pelted with debris. He shook his head. The giant lunged and roared fiercely. Kabuto ducked under the weak attempts. He found himself behind the giant again. However, he was very close to the edge. He looked behind him and down to the hot lava abyss. "Yeesh." Kabuto cringed slightly. The giant lunged at him again, swinging his axe in a blind rage. Kabuto waited long enough for him to get close and leapt over the large beast. He landed near the gate. "See ya…" He saluted the giant over his right shoulder. A bomb went off and the ledge the giant was standing on crumbled around him. The giant yelled as he fell into the lava. "Your shift is over." Kabuto stood up and turned to the gate and inspected it. "Hmm…" He placed his left hand on it. "Now how do I open you?" He asked the gate. His hand started to burn. He yanked his hand back and shook it. "Ow." He glanced at his hand then up at the gate. He placed five paper bombs on the gate, being careful not to burn his hand again. He scurried behind the boulders left from the first explosion and sat down. "Tiger," He made the hand sign. Ka-BOOM! "Oops… did I do that?" He asked innocently.

Neji and Hinata scanned the area. "Over there!" Hinata shouted and point up and to her right. There was a platform way above their heads that a dark figure was on. The figure ran from behind a column that connected the ground to the floor.

"After it!" Kiba called. They all leapt up and took off after it. It led them down confusing tunnels, over bridges, down cliffs and up platforms.

"Whatever it is, it's fast." Naruto stated, like it wasn't obvious. As the figure was jumping, it missed and let out a surprised yelp. It fell and slid slightly down to the ground where it tumbled to a harsh stop. Akamaru was first to catch up with the fleeing figure. He sniffed it and barked.

"What is it Akamaru?" Kiba asked as he approached. Akamaru pawed at it slightly.

"It… can't be…" Kurenai stated, her eyes wide in amazement. Most of them gasped.

A bright light had blinded Kabuto to where he had to put his arm up to block the glaring rays. Spirits of every kind fled the hole. "Well, done Kabuto." Orochimaru's voice stated. He walked out of the light sneering. "It seems that our plan has 'resumed'." He chuckled slightly, sneering. Kabuto approached him. Orochimaru turned to look behind him, smirking. A figure was illuminated by the light but then stepped out. Kabuto was slightly shocked. The figure had long brown hair but was cloaked in a thick black robe. It smirked a sharp canine smirk, raised its head to uncover the shadow casting over its glowing red eyes. It let out an evil chuckle.


	3. Bound By Strong Ties

"Rai-sama!" Sakura gasped in shock. But, it couldn't be… This 'Rai' was too small, too young. This 'Rai' had short brown hair barely going past her shoulders, a black shirt that covered her torso and middle of her upper arms, brown knee length shorts, and black ninja sandals. Everyone stood there staring at the figure for several seconds, trying to connect the broken line. What had they missed? Surely she was dead. How could this little child possibly be Rai? Rai was older, much older. Was it possible that this child accidently got caught up in the demon world as it shifted? Questions and ifs ran through everyone's mind. Kakashi stared at the girl, brows knitted together. This is what that feeling was, this child's presence was calling out to him, this is what made him go to the right and follow this dangerous path. He carefully leaked out his chakra just enough to get a signal of the little child's. His eye snapped open quickly as he quickly recoiled his chakra.

"Rai…" He muttered silently to himself. It was definitely Rai's chakra signature. It had been so long since he had seen her as a little girl, he didn't even recognize her. He was going to palm his forehead and curse himself for being so stupid, when Naruto's actions stopped him.

"Huh, Rai-sama? I don't see how this can be Rai-sama." Naruto asked Sakura and looked at the girl from left, right, above, in front, etc. then by her face, leaning in to get a better look. The girl's brown eyes snapped open and her body came to life. She quickly moved her body to flip up and kicked Naruto in the jaw, sending him backwards. She flipped over with the force and knelt for a landing.

"Rai-sama!" Tenten shouted in shock as the girl glared at them and sprinted off the way she was headed before the fall. Everyone took off after her.

"Kakashi," Iruka's voice snapped him out of his thinking. Kakashi looked up at Iruka, who was looking over his left shoulder. "Tell me, is that really Rai? Or is it just another demon trick?"

"It just has to be Rai-sama!" Sakura stated back to the two adults. There was a little bit of silence before Iruka turned back to Kakashi.

"It has her chakra signature," Kakashi stated. "Other than that, I'm not so sure." He lied, he was positive it was Rai, only at a different age when most of them never saw her.

"Sakura," Tsunade called back. "Don't be so quick to judge. You're in a demon's world now, this could very well look like Rai, but it most likely is not!" The girl quickly jumped a small 2 meter gap and the ninja were right on her heels. Asuma sprinted forward from the group as they entered another tunnel. The group began to break up in order to catch this kid or whatever it was. Kurenai quickly faded into the cavern walls, she managed to gain ground and quickly stepped out of a column, but the girl skidded around her. As Asuma passed her, Kurenai gritted her teeth and she fell to the back of the group. Suddenly a rolling sound and a blur flashed by the girl. It was Choji, who stopped and blew up his body large enough to block the entire path. The girl swiftly threw some sharp knapped stones, in the shapes of kunai blades. Once they hit Choji, he deflated quickly.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!" He yelped as the air deflated out of his round body. Sasuke went in for his chance, but noticed something and dropped back as Tenten, Neji, and Naruto quickly approached the girl. The girl noted this. Shikamaru hid behind a corner in the cavern wall, ready with his shadow possession jutsu. The girl was about to pass, Shikamaru shot out his shadow; the girl noted the group within arm's length and then the shadow and quickly skidded to a halt. The three tried to stop as quick as the girl, but skidded past her by several feet and wound up in Shikamaru's jutsu. The girl took off around them as they struggled under the trap.

"Shikamaru!" Tenten growled at him.

"Oops," Shikamaru winced slightly, a sweat drop forming on his left temple. Sakura sprinted up next to her next, Ino on her heels. Sakura looked at her to her left.

"Rai-sama, please," Sakura plead, trying to make her stop, "We won't hurt you." The girl quickly glanced at Sakura before Sakura ducked as Naruto bounded in front of her startling the girl and Sakura.

"Yeah, Rai-sama! We won't hurt ya!" Naruto stated with a smile. Suddenly, she sped up. When Naruto went to follow her with his head, he ran head long into a column of minerals connecting the cavern ceiling to the floor. He fell backwards on top of Sakura and Ino.

"Oo! Naruto!" Sakura growled and punched him. He yelped in pain.

"Wait to go, ya knuckle head!" Ino shouted at him as the group passed them. Neji and Sasuke shot by the girl, each on different sides and stopped in front of her, Neji in front and Sasuke behind, just in case she dodged him. However, instead of ducking around him, she leapt over him and aimed a kick straight for Sasuke. He was, first, shocked slightly, then placed his arms up to block the kick. She used his arms as a spring board and leapt off them and getting a head jump in front of the group. As the cave came to an end Genma and Iruka flanked the fleeing girl. They flanked her for roughly 30 meters before the path made a sudden dip and turned into a steep stair case. Genma put on the breaks before the cliff, which was on the girl's left. He stopped just before the edge, but Iruka and the girl bounded down the steep steps. Iruka had to jump a little more; his side was patched with holes of stair that crumbled into the lava abyss far, far, far below.

"Rai, please," It was Iruka's turn to plead to the girl. "We're just trying to help you." He stated in his caring tone. She glared at him and then leapt off the stairs at the bottom before making a slight curve to the right and leapt up the cliffs marring the side of a mountain. She leapt up to the top. Iruka skidded to a stop when a green blur swooshed by him. The girl had made a quick stop to turn and look back at the people pursuing her, Iruka noticed before she turned and bolted into the cave that led outside, Gai following her in hot pursuit. She ran out of the short tunnel. Gai caught up to her as she jumped over a large crevice and aimed her jump downwards. Gai popped up beside her and grabbed her in a tight hold.

"Gotcha!" Gai shouted in slight victory. The girl gasped in surprise and struggled in his grasp. He landed. She kicked at him with all her might, and then got a good idea. She opened her mouth wide and clamped down on his forearm. "OW!" Gai yelp and let go. The girl sprung off his chest and ran down the path. Kakashi was the only one to catch up to Gai quick enough. "She bit me!" He stated as Kakashi stalled for a second to check on Gai who was holding his right forearm before looking in the direction the girl was headed and took off after her. Kakashi followed the girl down a slightly winding path. The child took a sharp turn and ran into, what looked like, the ruins of a temple or elaborate house. However, all that was left were the remnants of stone walls. She thought she lost them and ran into a room that was still standing strong in the back. Kakashi quietly walked into the ruins, scanning the roof to see if it would collapse in on him before looking around at the inside. The roof and walls were stable enough for his liking; however the inside was in shambles. He caught the sound of ragged breathing. She was tired. He narrowed it down to a dark room in the back corner as he quietly walked along the inside of the building. Kakashi slowly came to an eroded doorway before he looked in. The room was skewed to his left, meaning there was more room on his left than on his right. He slowly scanned the room. A pile of debris, mostly rocks, was in the center of the room, possibly from the ceiling collapsing in slightly. The breathing began to die down as he examined the room. He soundlessly walked to the pile and went around it to his right. The pile was about as high as his waist, good enough to hide something all the way to the wall on the left hand side of the room. He placed his left hand on it and peaked around the corner.

She was shaking, curled up in a ball, legs clutched to her chest, arms tightly wrapped around them and forehead resting on her knees. Kakashi stepped to where his full body wasn't hidden by the cluster of rocks. He purposely made his foot skid to make a sound. The girl gasped and her head shot up, tears in her brown eyes. She snapped her head towards him and scrambled to her feet, eyes wide. She then glared and got into a fighting stance.

"Easy, Rai." Kakashi stated, showing his hands like he had nothing in them and was not going to harm her.

"How do you know my name!" She growled out in a shaky voice. It was, indeed, a child's voice, slightly higher than her normal voice. Kakashi took a step forward. She backed up, pressing her back against the wall. "Who are you! What do you want!" She yelled, balling her fists.

"Rai, it's alright," Kakashi tried to calm her down. He tried to talk to her in a comforting voice, or at least the one she knew. "It's me." He stated softly. He went to take another step forward. Rai shook her head and slid into the corner.

"No! You're working for my father!" She slid down into a little ball, knees in front of her face and her small hands clutching the side of her head. She began to cry again. "This can't be happening. I have to wake up." She told herself. Kakashi quietly came up and knelt right in front of her. She gasped and stiffened.

"Rai, it's me…" He tried to assure the child.

"You're not anyone… they're all dead because of him, all of them…" She didn't even open her eyes to look at him.

"How could I be dead if I'm right in front of you?" Kakashi asked softly as if it was a silly question.

"You're an illusion… trying to lure me out so he can kill me…" Rai glared at him through her hair.

"Now, you know I'd never do that…" Kakashi said sternly. There was some silence, he went to put his hand on her head, in a comforting gesture, but she fiercely batted his hand away. She turned so her side was wedged in the corner, cowering. Kakashi watched her for a several minutes before sighing and standing up. He turned and began to walk away when her voice stopped him.

"Please… don't go…" Her meek voice pleaded. "Even if you are an illusion, please, don't go… Don't leave me… You're all I've got…" She pleaded. "Don't leave me, alone… Not again…" Her voice trailed off even though it was already fairly quiet. Kakashi stopped and looked over his shoulder. "Please…" She buried her face further in her arms and clutched the sleeves of her t-shirt. He turned and walked back over to her. He sat down in front of her again, this time, without her shrinking away from him. "I don't want to be alone anymore." She continued, "Everyone keeps leaving me…" She then glared up at him. "How can I tell you're him?" Kakashi just responded by lifting his tilted hitai-ate up and opened his Sharingan eye. Rai gasped slightly, tears welled up in her eyes. "Kakashi…" slipped out of her lips. She quickly lunged for his neck. "Kashi!" She cried out and tightly clung to his neck and cried onto his shoulder. All he did was wrap his arms around her and laying a protective hand on her back, trying to calm her, before closing his eyes and sighing.

Finally, it was over.


	4. Cease to Be

"Where's Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked the group as they all clustered around the top of the crevice before the little girl and Gai's decent. Gai had jumped up to the top of the cliff to join the group.  
>"He's taking a long time going after her," Sasuke stated as he walked to the ledge and looked over the edge. Naruto rushed up next to him and shaded his eyes as he scanned the path.<br>"I don't see him," Tenten copied Naruto and shaded her squinted eyes as she looked over the path.  
>"I hope he's alright," Hinata replied meekly.<br>"C'mon! This is Kakashi-sensei we're talking about!" Naruto suddenly spun around and enthusiastically said to Hinata. "He'll be fine! He'll be back here in no time! He's just going to catch that little girl that looks like Rai-sama!" He turned around and smiled from ear to ear as he looked back out over the path.  
>"Naruto," Iruka's voice made him look over his shoulder and turn around. "We're not completely positive that girl was Rai, let alone human at all." Iruka explained to him.<br>"He's right…" Asuma concurred. "That may have very well looked like Rai, but it most likely is a demon that looks like Rai." His hands in his pockets and his stance relaxed as he relayed the information to the genin. "You're forgetting you're in a demon's world."  
>"But, the way Kakashi-sensei went after it like that…" Sakura paused, then shook her head and balled her fists. She looked up at Asuma in determination, "That just HAS to be Rai-sama! There's no other explanation for it!"<br>"We're not so sure what that was." Genma reiterated to the stubborn girl. "It might be Rai-sama, but it very well might be a demon."  
>"Well, whatever it is, that little brat bit me…" Gai grumbled, rubbing his right forearm. "So who knows what she will do to him." Gai looked at his arm where the little girl had fiercely bitten him.<br>"You best hope that thing doesn't have rabies…" Tsunade nodded to his arm, her arms crossed.  
>Several minutes passed, and then turned into about a half hour before anyone said anything.<br>"Should we go after him?" Ino asked as she looked over the cliff's edge.  
>"No," Shikamaru said from the ground where he was sitting. "The best thing for us to do now is to wait right here where he knows we'll be. If we move, we might not find each other in this twisted world." Shikamaru leaned over and heavily laid his head into his hand. "Man, this is a real drag…"<br>"Hmph!" Ino turned around and pouted, placing her hands on her hips. Roughly 15 minutes passed and everyone had moved away from the edge of the cliff. Several were in a light doze when they sensed something approaching them. It stopped at the base of the cliff before quickly jumping up and landing on top.  
>"Kakashi-sensei!" The genin shouted with relief. Kakashi had jumped up onto the cliff, his hands behind his back, holding something. He quickly knelt to the ground and pulled his hands out from behind him and a small girl climbed off his back. He stood up as soon as he was sure the girl was standing. The girl quickly hid behind his tall thin frame, clinging to his left pant leg with both hands, and hiding the right side of her body from the group in front of them. Her left brown eye scanned the strange people before her; however, she didn't like them very much and hid a little further behind Kakashi. Everybody got up and stared in shock and awe at the little girl, some knelt down on their knees, some bent over at the waist and rested their hands on their knees to get a better look, and others just stood straight up.<br>Kurenai was one who was bent at the waist and looked at the small girl before looking up at Kakashi and asking, "Is that really her?" She stood straight up and placed her left hand on her hip and let the other fall naturally to her side. Kakashi nodded his head slightly.  
>"Yes! I knew it!" Sakura cheered.<br>"But, it can't be!" Anko interjected. She was examining the little girl straight on before bending over slightly to get a better look. "She's too little!" Anko blatantly pointed out as she stood up straight, hands still on her hips. All of them kept a good distance, however, Naruto dared that. He walked right up to Kakashi and Rai and crouched down to get almost eye level with her. As he approached, Kakashi could feel Rai's fists tighten on his pant leg and her posture stiffen.  
>"Rai-sama, how'd ya get to be so small?" He came out and asked. He totally blew away the rules of decency and certain social aspects that should be maintain. However, this was Naruto, he had no boundaries. Rai let out a gasp and hid even further behind Kakashi so his body was completely blocking hers. Sasuke quickly walked up and snatched Naruto by the collar and dragged him back to the group. "Hey! What the-!?" He was completely caught off guard by this. Some adults shook their heads while others covered their face with their hand in shame.<br>"Is he really serious?" Ino asked no one in general.  
>"Naruto," Several people growled in annoyance.<br>"You've already scared her enough, dobe." Sasuke muttered and let go of the orange ninja's collar once safe within the circle of friends. Once the blue clad boy pulled the orange monster away from them, Rai peeked out from behind Kakashi's left leg again. Iruka waited a couple of seconds before taking several steps forward, watching the little girl's reaction. Once he took the step that made her tense, he took a step back and crouched down. She had freaked and hid behind Kakashi when he had gotten about two meters away.  
>"It's alright," Iruka's kind voice called to the child. Rai peeked a shy left eye around Kakashi's left leg. He had a gentle smile on his face. "We're not going to hurt you." She bit her bottom lip. She didn't know what to do, she felt like she could trust him, but she didn't want to, so she just stayed still. Iruka just stayed there. Patience was the game he had to play with her before when they first met, and patience is the game he has to play now in order for her to start to trust him. Sakura saw this and tried it for herself, crouching beside Iruka-sensei.<br>"Rai-sama, it's us." Sakura softly stated. Rai flinched and hid behind Kakashi again. This was overload for the poor kid. Sakura didn't like this reaction and looked up at Kakashi in concern. "Why doesn't she remember us?"  
>"She's roughly around the age of 8, Sakura," Kakashi said as he placed his left hand on Rai's head. Rai looked up at him. "She doesn't know you at this age."<br>"That's what I thought." Iruka stated as he curled his right index finger around his chin. "That does explain things."  
>"So, she doesn't remember any of us?" Tenten asked.<br>"I'm afraid not," was Kakashi's response.  
>"Then how come she knows you?" Kiba gruffly asked, crossing his arms and Akamaru on his head. Kakashi looked down at Rai.<br>"She's known me since she was born." He explained. "So even at this age…"  
>"She still recognizes you…" Asuma finished for him. Kakashi looked at Asuma and nodded. After several seconds of silence Tsunade spoke.<br>"So, now that we have the little brat. What are we going to do with her?"  
>"Tsunade-sama!" Shizune scolded her. Rai glared at the blonde haired woman and tightened her grip again on Kakashi's pant leg. Suddenly, a rumbling sound emanated from the group. Everyone's heads snapped towards Choji. He looked down at his stomach, one hand with an empty bag of potato chips, the other rubbing his belly. Everyone had a sweat drop going down their head. Several of the other's stomachs began to complain.<br>"We should probably find something to eat," Tenten complained slightly as she held her growling stomach. Rai's eyes opened a little and she reached up and tugged on Kakashi's left sleeve cuff a little to gain his attention. He looked down at her and then crouched down to her level. She cupped her left hand over the side of her mouth and whispered something to him.  
>"Really?" Kakashi asked her. She nodded. As the group began to complain, Kakashi stood up and interrupted their delicious thoughts, "Uh, guys… there's a place not too far from here that has some food."<br>"Really!?" Choji piped up.  
>"Let's go!" Naruto threw his fist in the air. Rai was paying so much attention to Kakashi, she didn't even notice Iruka.<br>"So there's a place nearby huh?" Iruka asked her, his arms crossed and a soft smile on his face. She snapped her head to him and tensed. "Easy, I'm not going to hurt you, I promise." Iruka clarified softly to her. Rai was still tense, but not as tense when she was able to wedge Kakashi between Iruka and herself slightly. Kakashi knelt down to allow Rai to hop on his back, which she gladly did, and he stood up. Now that she was eye to eye with this man, he didn't look too scary. He closed his eyes and smiled at her. "You're a good girl, Rai." That shocked Rai, hearing it come from someone else's mouth rather than Kakashi's. Iruka turned and began to walk away. Kakashi turned and began to lead the group with little Rai on his back. Rai guided them safely down the treacherous cliffs and into the dying and decaying forest. Every once in a while, she would look over her shoulders at the group behind them and get uncomfortable and turn and clutch to Kakashi's neck or whisper something to him.  
>He would just calm her down with words of comfort, "Don't worry, I'm here now. I won't let anything happen to you." He'd smile at her. She'd smile back and they'd continue on their way. She guided them to a small area where the trees thickened and the ground became uneven. She told Kakashi to go right, but if he went any further right, he'd go into a cave? Kakashi raised an eyebrow and looked at Rai. She just nodded. He crouched down and let her off his back. She walked into the cave and he followed, along with everyone else. In the cave, hidden under a rock, was a stash of nonperishable items, more like food pills, water tablets, and several edible herbs and plants.<br>"There's not a lot, but there should be enough for everyone." Rai's meek voice stated to Kakashi as she began to pull out small vial after small vial of food pills and water tablets, and wrapped in dried up leaves were dried fruits and plants that could be eaten. The maximum food pills that should be eaten are 4, so everyone took 3. However, they could help themselves to the water tablets and dried fruit and plants. Though the plants weren't very appetizing, they were eaten anyways. It was food which could be turned into energy. Kakashi had already had his fill and put some of the left over pills and tablets in his pouch. The dried food was eaten up with delight. Rai sat next to Kakashi, munching on a small piece of dried apple when he placed his right hand on her head.  
>"You did a good thing, Rai." Kakashi praised. Rai swallowed her food, looked up at him, and closed her eyes and smiled. Kakashi smiled back.<br>"Thank you, Rai, for the food," Iruka's voice caused her to snap her head to the other side of the cave where the group was gathered. He smiled at her, as did some of the others and thanked her. Though Naruto did some complaining about the food not being ramen, it was very peaceful. They finished up everything and placed the leftover pills and tablets in their pouches before standing up and heading out. Rai stuck closely to Kakashi's side. She literally almost looked glued to his left leg; somehow, even with his long strides, she was still able to keep up with him. They began to find themselves climbing the mountains again and traveling along a winding path. Kakashi purposely fell back to the rear of the group, knowing Rai's habits. They were just about to descend to the forest floor and head for Konoha when everyone froze as a cold chill ran up their spines. They all looked out over the valley, scanning the dying tree tops. They noted that some black birds were stirred by this as well and took flight in every direction off in the distance.  
>"What was that?" Shizune asked. She looked from the valley to the group. Several turned to look at Rai. Rai's head shot up with the attention and she jerked her head back and forth before shaking her head at the group that stared her down. Kakashi glared slightly out over the valley. He was sure he knew what that was, but he didn't feel it anymore. There was nothing.<br>"Let's keep moving." He stated to the group, still looking out over the valley. Rai looked up at him. She knew he knew something. She looked out over the blackened valley. Something was going on out there that he didn't like. She immediately followed his leg as he took a step to follow the path. The group nodded and continued their trek down to the forest floor. Once all down at the forest floor, they began to realize that the dead forest wasn't so dead after all. The forest was actually alive, despite its decaying and charred appearance. Rodents, birds, snakes, insects, and reptiles of certain sizes rummaged among the dead around them. As they continued their long path to the village, several fell back in the group to where Rai was. Neji was the first to fall back near Kakashi before he stopped and glanced around, falling behind Kakashi and little Rai.  
>"Asuma," Kurenai stated in a hushed tone as she glanced off to her right.<br>"I know," He stated, most of the group went on high alert hearing the conversation. Suddenly, a harpy came flying out of the sky and tried to swipe Rai off the ground next to Kakashi, who had immediately moved her out of the way with a simple shift of his body to push her behind him as he turned, dodging the feathered attack. It came back again for another go however Asuma jumped in between the assailant and Kakashi. It suddenly stopped in midair, flapping its brown feathered winged arms.  
>"Haagh, so you found the little brat, eh?" The harpy breathed out. She smirked, flashing her sharp teeth. Dead twigs began to break all around the group as demons began to make their presence known.<br>"Purrfect," purred a golden panther demon as he appeared along with several others who growled at the group. A man like demon came out of the darkened shadows, it was a death spirit, it's a man like demon cloaked in a hooded black robe but wore an animal or human skull in front of its black skin on its face.  
>"We'll take her off your hands for you…" The death spirit stated as he held up his hand, palm facing the sky.<br>"I don't think so!" Naruto stated, getting into an even deeper fighting stance.  
>"She's not going anywhere." Shikamaru warned, getting ready for his special jutsu. Kakashi felt something quivering next to him. He glanced down, it was Rai, she was quivering. He just placed a hand on her head to try and calm her down. The group slowly gathered themselves around Rai, slowly shifting into place and watching for the slightest hint of attack. After an intense battle of stares and glares, a brave two headed snake swiveled a little before lunging at the group, causing them to split in half. It then curled to its right, trying to get to Rai. The even smaller group divided in half again as the snake lunged for them. Kakashi was able to jump out of the mess along with Rai, who clung closely to his chest. Kakashi landed and skidded backwards, still holding onto Rai. He can't fight and hold onto Rai at the same time, he had to put her down. Asuma, Sakura, and Ino found themselves backed up against Kakashi, who had placed Rai down behind him.<br>"Kakashi," Asuma stated over his right shoulder, "Rai is their main target. Got any ideas?" Kakashi stood there for a second in silence.  
>"Just one and I hope it works." Kakashi said before he glanced back to Rai. "Do you trust me?" He asked the little girl. The girl glanced up at him and he repeated the question. "Do you trust me, Rai?" She nodded. He turned to the demons in front of him. "Here's the plan, Asuma, Ino, and I will create a distraction. Sakura, you take Rai and run as fast as you can." He felt Rai's grip on his pant leg tighten again, he knew she hated to be separated from him, but she knew it had to be done. "Ready?" Kakashi muttered, "Go!" The three lunged at the demons and took their attentions away from Rai long enough for Sakura to scoop up Rai and take off away from the mayhem. However, their stunt didn't go unnoticed. A different harpy managed to see through their ploy and followed the kids. Barely 15 strides from the battle and Sakura had to jump out of the way of the aerial attack from the feathered fiend. Sakura leapt far and the harpy dove, screeching and baring its talons at the duo. Sakura shifted in midair to avoid the sharp claws. She had to dodge the harpy several more times, but not without consequences, several times her bicep, side, and leg got nicked by the sharp talons and began to bleed.<br>"Stop! Put me down! It's me they want! You're just going to get hurt even more!" Rai shouted at the pink haired kunoichi.  
>"Not a chance, Rai-sama." Sakura sternly stated. All of a sudden, another monster joined in the fray. It was the large two headed snake that had attacked them earlier. Not only the snake, but as Sakura peeked over her shoulder, there were more in pursuit of her and the little girl. Rai noted this and squirmed around to reach for Sakura's weapon pouch on her back. "Rai-sama what-?"<br>"Just keep running! Don't stop!" Rai stated. Rai began to rummage through the pack.  
>'Stop, don't stop, make up your mind!' Sakura thought to herself as she gave a slight glare to the girl. Rai was able to dig out some wire and paper bombs and kunai. Rai now managed to squirm so she was over Sakura's shoulder and threw several kunai down in their tracks before she made several hand signs and made the last one as the demons approached the kunai.<br>'Tiger' "Fireball jutsu!" Rai shouted as she blew flames from her mouth towards the demons. The demons skidded to a halt in their tracks and were engulfed by the fire and smoke as the bombs exploded. Sakura felt the immense heat on her back and the concussions from the bombs going off. She slowed down to a walk and turned to look at the devastation behind them. She was in awe of what this little girl could do. Her mouth dropped and Rai smiled happily as Sakura looked at her in amazement. Rai looked at Sakura at closed her eyes, smiling. Suddenly, Rai felt herself jerked up by the back of her shirt.  
>"Rai-sama!" Sakura shouted from the ground. Rai snapped her head up to look at what was hauling her away. It was a harpy.<br>"I got you now, you little brat." She hissed. Rai began to fidget but was not strong enough to break the grip of the harpy's talons. Rai got an idea, shoved her hand in her pocket and took out a knapped stone.  
>"Damn harpy!" Rai muttered as she wiggled and managed to stab the harpy in the leg with the sharp knapped stone. The harpy screeched in pain and dropped the child. Rai fell, she twisted herself to try and slow her decent. She managed to fall into a tree, grab a sturdy branch, but her momentum caused her to flip. She flipped and landed on a branch lower, however, she still had more momentum behind her than she originally thought. So, instead of staying on the branch, her body kept going forward and she fell several meters onto her back, onto the ground. Rai sat up; using her arms to support her and shook her head, shaking off the fall. She stood up and began to brush herself off and check for any damage, "Well, that was graceful." Rai felt herself being picked up by the collar of her shirt again. 'Not again,' she thought as she scowled to the person picking her up.<br>"Well, well… what an easy catch." It was a death spirit. Rai's eyes snapped open in shock and slight fear. She wasn't expecting him. She then glared at him and began to squirm around in his grasp. "Now, now, stop struggling." He stated. He raised his free right hand and it became engulfed in an eerie fire. "It will all be over soon." He brought his right hand closer to Rai. Rai's eyes widened in fear as it drew near her. All of a sudden, Kurenai's foot kicked up and snapped the death spirit's right hand up and away from Rai. "What?!" He snapped quickly before Gai's kick did the exact same thing to his left arm, causing him to unwillingly let go of the little girl.  
>"Gotcha," Gai stated as he caught the girl.<br>"Why you-!" The death spirit yelled and lunged for Gai. Gai had to think fast.  
>"Iruka!" He shouted out as he tossed Rai towards him. Iruka turned to see Rai coming at him and he instinctively caught her.<br>"Oof!" She collided with him.  
>"Hi there," He stated when Rai squirmed around in his arms to a comfortable position before turning to glare at the man that threw her.<br>"I'm not a damn ball!" Rai shouted at Gai, her fist raised in anger. A sweat drop appeared on Iruka's temple.  
>"Wow, what a mouth." He muttered to himself as he watched Rai shout at Gai. Iruka felt something and jumped back and to his right. It was a female panther demon and she swiped her massive claws at him. She swiped at him several more times, each time Iruka ducked and dodged out of the way. Finally, she made a swipe for his head and he did a back flip and took off into the woods. Iruka did everything in his power to run and keep the pursuers away from Rai.<br>Iruka had his back pressed up against a black tree, sweating and panting, his head turned to his right seeing if more demons would come. Rai looked up at him from where he held her protectively to his chest. Once the coast was clear he sighed and slid down the tree so he could sit and let his arms loosen around Rai so she could get out of his grasp. He laid his head back against the trunk and closed his eyes, still breathing hard and sweat dripping down his face.  
>'He's tired,' Rai thought as she sat there in front of him, waiting for him to catch his breath. "Why are you doing this?" She asked him once his breathing calmed down.<br>"Huh?" Iruka opened his eyes, leaned his head forward and looked at Rai.  
>"Why are you doing this, protecting me?" Rai restated to the slightly weary Chunin. "All this is going to do is get people killed and in the end he will get me, even if he has to kill every one of you." Rai told Iruka looking into his eyes before looking away. She couldn't stand to see them getting hurt anymore.<br>Iruka watched Rai's demeanor change at her statement before he sighed, "Well." Rai looked up at him again. "You're important to us, Rai." Iruka said as he leaned his head back against the tree, but he was still looking at her. "Even though you may not know it, you've changed all our lives." He let out another sigh, still trying to catch his breath. "You're special, Rai, even to me." He was going to speak again when he winced and held his right arm.  
>"Iruka!" Rai shouted in shock. Rai was able to see that he didn't leave the panther demon encounter scot free. The panther managed to sink one and a half claws into his right bicep; it was a good clean cut. 'He didn't notice because of his adrenaline,' was Rai's thought. She looked at her left side, she seemed to be okay, and however, she was spotted with his blood a little. Other than that she didn't feel hurt anywhere. Some bushes behind them began to move. Rai stood up, turned and glared at the foliage, preparing for a fight. Hinata came into view as she emerged from the shadows.<br>"They're over here!" Her weak voice called out to the group. She quickly went up to Rai.  
>"Iruka is hurt," Rai stated as Hinata knelt down next to her. Hinata looked to Iruka than back to Rai. Rai shook her head, "I'm fine, it's his blood. I'm not hurt." Rai stated. Hinata turned and examined Iruka's wounded arm. She applied some of her ointment on it as several people came to see them. Slowly all the group gathered in the general area around the three.<br>"Thanks, Hinata," Iruka said.  
>"You're welcome." Hinata replied with a small smile. She stood up once she was done bandaging his arm. Shizune had helped make sure that Rai was alright and cleaned some of the blood off her.<br>"Alright, I've had enough of this," Tsunade stated, slight anger hinting in her voice. "This little brat has caused us nothing but trouble from the moment we started going after her!" Rai glared at the blonde raging woman. "Who's up for getting rid of the little shit?" She stated bluntly crossing her arms. There was a slight pause. Shizune was too shocked to correct her.  
>"No," A voice of reason spoke up, it was Kakashi who walked towards Iruka and helped him up. "We're not going to leave her," Kakashi said sternly as he walked over to Rai. Shizune stood up as Kakashi approached them.<br>"What?" Tsunade snapped at him, gnashing her teeth and glaring.  
>"You heard me. I don't need to repeat myself." Kakashi's voice remained stern though inside he was ready to kill something, or someone.<br>"Why you," Tsunade muttered to herself, she fisted her sleeves before throwing her fists down to her sides. "How dare you! How dare you defy your Hokage! I give you and order and you-!"  
>"And I what!?" Kakashi was ready to snap, however he still had a ways to go, he just had to get his point across. He turned and glared at Tsunade. "You're not the Hokage anymore! The village doesn't exist! Konohagakure doesn't even exist in this world! There is no such thing as humans, love, or hope! Everything we once knew is gone!" Kakashi snapped at Tsunade. Rai was glaring at Tsunade before Kakashi went on his rant; however she wound up looking at him, her mouth slightly slack. She had forgotten how mad he could get; she hadn't seen him this worked up in a long time. And she had to be honest, this was mild compared to the other times she'd seen him mad. There was a dead silence that fell over the group. Slowly, reality began to set into several people, even Tsunade. Tsunade's face slowly fell into slight shock.<br>"He controls everything here," Rai stated, standing next to Kakashi. "He can do whatever he wants, he's everywhere. He most likely would have noticed us by now with all the ruckus we've caused." Rai's right hand gripped Kakashi's pant leg. "He has eyes everywhere." Rai muttered.  
>"That's why we need to keep moving," Kakashi's normal tone returned, there was no hint of his previous rant in his voice what so ever.<br>"But, where are we going to rest for the night?" Tenten asked, arms crossed and a slightly worried look on her face.  
>"There is a cave not too far from here," Rai stated. She began to walk, tugging on Kakashi's pant leg motioning him to follow her. Rai wasn't that far ahead of the group, only two or three strides worth. Suddenly a large white muscular dog lunged right in front of her, scaring her, causing her to fall backwards, and gasping in surprise.<p> 


End file.
